a

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See also: A, ᴀ, and Appendix:Variations of "a"

a U+0061, a
LATIN SMALL LETTER A
← `
[U+0060] 		Basic Latin b →
[U+0062]
ᵃ U+1D43, ᵃ
MODIFIER LETTER SMALL A
← ᵂ
[U+1D42] 		Phonetic Extensions ᵄ →
[U+1D44]
ａ U+FF41, ａ
FULLWIDTH LATIN SMALL LETTER A
← ｀
[U+FF40] 		Halfwidth and Fullwidth Forms ｂ →
[U+FF42]

Translingual[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Approximate form of Greek upper case Α (a, “alpha”) that was the source for both common variants of a Modification of capital A.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (letter, most languages): IPA(key): /ɑː/, /a/ Big Nambas
  • IPA(file)

Letter[edit]

a (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the basic modern Latin alphabet.
    (superscript) See ª.

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. (IPA, phonetics) an open front or central unrounded vowel.
  2. (IPA, superscript ⟨ᵃ⟩) [a]-coloring or a weak, fleeting, epenthetic or echo [a].
  3. (international standards) transliterates Indic अ (or equivalent).

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Abbreviation of atto-, from Danish atten (“eighteen”).

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. atto-, prefix for 10-18 in the International System of Units.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Latin annum or annus.

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. Year as a unit of time, specifically a Julian year or 365.25 days.

Etymology 4[edit]

Abbreviation of are, from French are.

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. An are, a unit of area one hundredth of a hectare; ares.

Etymology 5[edit]

Abbreviation of English acceleration.

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. (physics) acceleration

Etymology 6[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “from annuity?”)

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. (actuarial notation) Annuity; (specifically) annuity-immediate.
    ax:n̅| ― n-year annuity-immediate to a person currently age x
    ax ― life annuity-immediate to a person currently age x
The template Template:Letter does not use the parameter(s): 
Character=A1
Please see Module:checkparams for help with this warning.

Other representations of A:

Gallery[edit]

  • Letter styles
  • Uppercase and lowercase versions of A, in normal and italic type
    Uppercase and lowercase versions of A, in normal and italic type
  • Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur
    Uppercase and lowercase A in Fraktur
  • Approximate form of Greek uppercase Α (a, “alpha”), the source of both common variants of a A in uncial script
    Approximate form of Greek uppercase Α (a, “alpha”), the source of both common variants of a A in uncial script

English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Runic letter ᚫ (a, “ansuz”), source for Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letters replaced by a
Runic letter ᚫ (a, “ansuz”), source for Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letters replaced by a

From Middle English and Old English lower case letter a and split of Middle English and Old English lower case letter æ.

  • Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚪ (a, “āc”) Old English lower case letter a from 7th century replacement by Latin lower case letter a of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚪ (a, “āc”), derived from Runic letter ᚫ (a, “Ansuz”).
  • Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter æsc (æ) Old English lower case letter æ from 7th century replacement by Latin lower case ligature æ of the Anglo-Saxon Futhorc letter ᚫ (æ, “æsc”), also derived from Runic letter ᚫ (a, “Ansuz”).

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lowercase, uppercase A, plural as or a's)

  1. The first letter of the English alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Usage notes[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]

Numeral[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The ordinal number first, derived from this letter of the English alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun[edit]

a (plural aes)[1]

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A / a.
Alternative forms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See a/translations § Noun.
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle English a, an, from Old English ān (“one; a; lone; sole”). More at one. The "n" was gradually lost before consonants in almost all dialects by the 15th century. Cognate with Alemannic German a (“a, an”), East Franconian a (“a, an”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

a (indefinite)

  1. One; any indefinite example of. [from before 1150][2]
    There was a man here looking for you yesterday.
    • 1992, Rudolf M[athias] Schuster, The Hepaticae and Anthocerotae of North America: East of the Hundredth Meridian, volume V, New York, N.Y.: Columbia University Press, →ISBN, page vii:
      With fresh material, taxonomic conclusions are leavened by recognition that the material examined reflects the site it occupied; a herbarium packet gives one only a small fraction of the data desirable for sound conclusions. Herbarium material does not, indeed, allow one to extrapolate safely: what you see is what you get […]
    • 2005, Emily Kingsley (lyricist), Kevin Clash (voice actor), “A Cookie is a Sometime Food”, Sesame Street, season 36, Sesame Workshop:
      Hoots the Owl: Yes a, fruit, is a [sic], any, time, food!
    • 2016, VOA Learning English (public domain)
      Anna, do you have a pen? — Yes. I have a pen in my bag. I have a (stressed) …
      Audio (US)(file)
  2. One; used before score, dozen, hundred, thousand, million, etc.
    I've seen it happen a hundred times.
  3. Used in some phrases denoting quantity, such as a few, a good many, a couple, a little (for an uncountable noun), etc.
    They asked me a few questions.
  4. Used in some adverbial phrases denoting degree or extent, such as a little, a bit, a lot, etc.
    The door was opened a little.
  5. The same; one and the same. Used in phrases such as of a kind, birds of a feather, etc.
    We are of a mind on matters of morals.
    They're two of a kind.
  6. Any; every; used before a noun which has become modified to limit its scope.[1]
    A man who dies intestate leaves his children troubles and difficulties.
  7. Any; used with a negative to indicate not a single one.[3]
    It was so dark that we couldn't see a thing.
    He fell all that way, and hasn't a bump on his head?
  8. Used before an adjective that modifies a noun (singular or plural) delimited by a numeral.
    a staggering three million dollars
    The holidays are a mere one week away.
  9. One; someone named; used before a person's name, suggesting that the speaker knows little about the person other than the name.[4]
    We've received an interesting letter from a Mrs. Miggins of London.
  10. Used before an adjective modifying a person's name.
    • 2018, “Rwandan court drops all charges against opposition figure”, in Associated Press:
      "I will continue my campaign to fight for the rights of all Rwandans," a surprised but happy Rwigara told reporters after celebrating.
  11. Someone or something like; similar to;[3] Used before a proper noun to create an example out of it.
    The center of the village was becoming a Times Square.
    The man is a regular Romeo.
Usage notes[edit]
Main appendix: English articles#Indefinite articles
  • In standard English, the article a is used before consonant sounds, while an is used before vowel sounds; for more, see the usage notes about an.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
See an/translations § Article.
See also[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. To do with separation; In, into. [from before 1150][2]
    Torn a pieces.
  2. To do with time; Each, per, in, on, by. Often occurs between two nouns, where the first noun occurs at the end of a verbal phrase.[from before 1150][2]
    I brush my teeth twice a day.
  3. To do with status; In. [from before 1150][2]
  4. (archaic) To do with position or direction; In, on, at, by, towards, onto. [from before 1150][2]
    Stand a tiptoe.
  5. (archaic) To do with process, with a passive verb; In the course of, experiencing. [from before 1150][2]
  6. (archaic) To do with an action, an active verb; Engaged in. [16th c.][2]
  7. (archaic) To do with an action/movement; To, into. [16th c.][2]
  8. (obsolete) To do with method; In, with. [from before 1150][2]
  9. (obsolete) To do with role or capacity; In. [from before 1150][2]
    A God’s name.
Usage notes[edit]
  • (position, direction): Can also be attached without a hyphen, as aback, ahorse, afoot. See a-
  • (separation): Can also be attached without hyphen, as asunder. See a-
  • (status): Can also be attached without hyphen, as afloat, awake. See a-.
  • (process): Can also be attached with or without hyphen, as a-changing
See also[edit]

Etymology 4[edit]

From Middle English a, ha contraction of have, or haven.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  2. (archaic or slang) Have. [between 1150 and 1350, continued in some use until 1650; used again after 1950]
    I'd a come, if you'd a asked.
    • 1884, Robert Holland, M.R.A.C., A Glossary of Words Used in the County of Chester, volume Part I--A to F., London: English Dialect Society, page 1:
      Oi'd a gen im a clout, if oi'd been theer.
    • c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, (please specify the act number in uppercase Roman numerals, and the scene number in lowercase Roman numerals):
      So would I a done by yonder ſunne
      ?And thou hadſt not come to my bed.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Now often attached to preceding auxiliary verb. See -a.
Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 5[edit]

From Middle English a, a reduced form of he (“he”)/ha (“he”), heo (“she”)/ha (“she”), ha (“it”), and hie, hie (“they”).

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, she, they: the third-person singular or plural nominative.[4]
    • 1855, Kingsley, W. Ho!, page 120 (edition of 1889):
      He've a got a great venture on hand, but what a [it] be he tell'th no man.
    • 1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 2:
      Doctors, they knaws nowt, fur a [they] says what's nawways true.
    1. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) He, the third-person singular nominative.
      • 1598–1599 (first performance), William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii]:
        a’ brushes his hat o’ mornings.
      • 1795, Peter Pindar, The Royal Visit to Exeter, a Political Epistle: by John Ploughshare ... published by Peter Pindar, Esq, page 5:
        Well! in a come [in he came]—KING GEORGE to town, / With doust and zweat az netmeg brown, / The hosses all in smoke;
      • 1860, Kite, Sng. Sol., ii, 16:
        A do veed amang th' lilies.
      • 1864, Tennyson, N. Farmer, Old Style, st. 7, version of 1917, Raymond Macdonald Alden, Alfred Tennyson, how to Know Him, page 226:
        "The amoighty's a taakin' o' you to 'issén, my friend," a said, […]
    2. (obsolete outside England and Scotland dialects) She, the third-person singular nominative.
      • 1790, Grose, MS. add. (M.):
        A wanted me to go with her.
      • 1876, Bound, Prov.:
        Did a do it!
      • 1883, Hardy, Tover, page 124 (edition of 1895):
        A's getting wambling on her pins [shaky on her legs].

Etymology 6[edit]

From Middle English of, with apocope of the final f and vowel reduction.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • o', o (preposition)

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  2. (archaic or slang) Of.
    The name of John a Gaunt.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Often attached without a hyphen to preceding word.

Etymology 7[edit]

From Northern Middle English aw, alteration of all.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly Scotland) All. [from ca. 1350—1470]

Adjective[edit]

a (not comparable)

  1. (chiefly Scotland) All. [from ca. 1350—1470]

Etymology 8[edit]

Symbols

Symbol[edit]

a

  1. Distance from leading edge to aerodynamic center.
  2. specific absorption coefficient
  3. specific rotation
  4. allele (recessive)

Etymology 9[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a

  1. (crosswords) across
    Do you have the answer for 23a?
  2. (chiefly US) Alternative spelling of a.m. (“ante meridiem”) or am

Etymology 10[edit]

Particle[edit]

a

  1. Alternative form of -a (“empty syllable added to songs, poetry, verse and other speech”)
    • 2001, Louis F. Newcomb, Car Salesman: A Legacy, iUniverse (→ISBN), page 91:
      “I show a you right a here I can fuck a you.” “Is she crazy?” I asked Wyman.

Etymology 11[edit]

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Noun[edit]

a

  1. The name of the Cyrillic script letter А / а.

Translations[edit]

See a/translations § Cyrillic.

Etymology 12[edit]

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. ah; er (sound of hesitation)
    • 1847 January – 1848 July, William Makepeace Thackeray, Vanity Fair […], London: Bradbury and Evans […], published 1848, →OCLC:
      "We will resume yesterday's discourse, young ladies," said he, "and you shall each read a page by turns; so that Miss a—Miss Short may have an opportunity of hearing you"; and the poor girls began to spell a long dismal sermon delivered at Bethesda Chapel, Liverpool, on behalf of the mission for the Chickasaw Indians.

Etymology 13[edit]

Abbreviations.

  1. (stenoscript) a word-initial letter ⟨a⟩.
  2. (stenoscript) the long vowel /eɪ/ at the end of a word, or before a final consonant that is not /dʒ, v, z/. (Note: the final consonant is not written; [ɛə˞] counts as /eɪr/.)
    Thus the word a, plus its inflection an.
  3. (stenoscript) the word a.m.
  4. (stenoscript) the prefix ad-.

Quotations[edit]

Additional quotations for any terms on this page may be found at Citations:a.

References[edit]

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Gove, Philip Babcock, (1976)
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 Brown, Lesley, (2003)
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lindberg, Christine A. (2007)
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Oxford University Press, (2023)

Further reading[edit]

Abau[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /a/

Noun[edit]

a

  1. house

Afar[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Determiner[edit]

á

  1. this, these (masculine)

Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

See Template:aa-demonstrative determiners.

References[edit]

  • E. M. Parker, R. J. Hayward (1985) “a”, in An Afar-English-French dictionary (with Grammatical Notes in English), University of London, →ISBN
  • Mohamed Hassan Kamil (2015) L’afar: description grammaticale d’une langue couchitique (Djibouti, Erythrée et Ethiopie)‎[5], Paris: Université Sorbonne Paris Cité (doctoral thesis)

Albanian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. or
  2. there

Etymology 2[edit]

From Proto-Albanian *(h)an, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂en (“there”). Cognate with Latin an (“yes, perhaps”). Interrogative particle, usually used proclitically in simple sentences.

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

a

  1. probably, perhaps
  2. whether

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Standard Albanian Latin-script alphabet.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Orel, Vladimir E. (1998) “a part. ('whether'), conj. ('or')”, in Albanian Etymological Dictionary, Leiden, Boston, Köln: Brill, →ISBN, page 1
  2. ^ Mann, S. E. (1948) “a”, in An Historical Albanian–English Dictionary, London: Longmans, Green & Co., page 1

Further reading[edit]

  • “a”, in FGJSSH: Fjalor i gjuhës së sotme shqipe [Dictionary of the modern Albanian language]‎[6] (in Albanian), 1980
  • “a”, in FGJSH: Fjalor i gjuhës shqipe [Dictionary of the Albanian language] (in Albanian), 2006

Ama[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

a

  1. tree

Anguthimri[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  1. (transitive, Mpakwithi) to pull

References[edit]

  • Terry Crowley, The Mpakwithi dialect of Anguthimri (1981), page 184

Aragonese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin illa.

Article[edit]

a f sg

  1. the
    a luenga aragonesa ― the Aragonese language

Asturian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to, towards

Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

a f

  1. a (the name of the letter A, a)

Azerbaijani[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Azerbaijani alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Bambara[edit]

Article[edit]

a

  1. the (definite article).

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. ah (expression of surprise)
  2. eh (expression of reluctance)

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. they, them (plural)
  2. he, she, they (singular)

Synonyms[edit]

  • (they): u

Basque[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Basque alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

a (indeclinable)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A.

See also[edit]

Bavarian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Cognate with German ein, eine, Yiddish אַ (a), אַן (an).

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

a

  1. a
See also[edit]
Bavarian articles
m n f pl
stressed unstressed stressed unstressed stressed unstressed stressed unstressed
definite nominative der, da — das, es, des 's de d' de d'
accusative en, den 'n
dative em, dem 'm em, dem 'm der, da —
genitive1 des des der, da der, da
indefinite nominative a — a — a —
accusative an 'n
dative am 'm am 'm a, ana 'na
1) higher, formal register
  • oa (“one”, determiner)

Etymology 2[edit]

Unstressed form of ea

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. he
See also[edit]
Bavarian personal pronouns
nominative accusative dative
stressed unstressed stressed unstressed stressed unstressed
1st person singular i — mi — mia (mir) ma
2nd person singular
(informal) 		du — di — dia (dir) da
2nd person singular
(formal) 		Sie — Eahna — Eahna —
3rd person singular m er a eahm 'n eahm 'n
n es, des 's des 's
f se, de 's se 's ihr —
1st person plural mia (mir) ma uns — uns —
2nd person plural eß, ihr — enk, eich — enk, eich —
3rd person plural se 's eahna — eahna —

Etymology 3[edit]

Cognate with German auch.

Adverb[edit]

a

  1. Alternative form of aa: also, too, as well

Belizean Creole[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. of

References[edit]

  • Crosbie, Paul, ed. (2007), Kriol-Inglish Dikshineri: English-Kriol Dictionary. Belize City: Belize Kriol Project, p. 19.

Big Nambas[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. in

References[edit]

Breton[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Proto-Brythonic *o, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a (triggers soft mutation)

  1. from (expresses origin)
    tud a Vrest ― people from Brest
  2. of (indicates an amount)
    un tamm brav a gig ― a nice piece of meat
  3. of (expresses a quality)
    ur plac’h a enor ― a girl of honour
  4. after certain adjectives or adverbs expressing quantity
    ur voutailh leun a sistr ― a bottle full of cider
  5. after ordinal numbers with a plural noun
    tri a vugale ― three children
  6. used in negative sentences with the grammatical object
    nʼem eus ket ken a vutun ― I donʼt have any more tobacco
  7. before the infinitive after certain verbs like paouez, mirout, diwall, c'hwitañ
    paouezet eo ar glav a gouezhañ ― it has stopped raining [lit. the rain has stopped falling]
  8. after substantivized adjectives used as nouns
    ur vrav a blacʼh ― a pretty girl
  9. combined with a personal pronoun
    gwelet em boa acʼhanout ― I saw you
    an den a gomzan anezhañ ― the man Iʼm talking about
Inflection[edit]
  Personal forms of a  
singular plural
1 ac'hanon 1 ac'hanomp
2 ac'hanout 2 ac'hanoc'h
3 m anezhañ 3 anezho
3 f anezhi
imp. ac'hanor

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

a (triggers soft mutation)

  1. preverbal particle used when
    1. the subject precedes the verb
      ar mor a zo glas ― the sea is blue
    2. the object precedes the verb
      an den-se a glevan ― I hear that man

Pronoun[edit]

a (triggers soft mutation)

  1. (relative) that, which, who (used in 'direct' relative clauses, i.e. where the pronoun refers to the subject or the direct object of an inflected verb)
    an hini a garan ― the one whom I love

Cameroon Pidgin[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. Alternative spelling of I (“1st person singular subject personal pronoun”)

Catalan[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Catalan alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Derived terms[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. in, at; indicating a particular time or place
    Sóc a Barcelona.
    I am in Barcelona.
  2. to; indicating movement towards a particular place
    Vaig a Barcelona.
    I'm going to Barcelona.
  3. to; indicating a target or indirect object
    Escric una carta a la meva àvia.
    I'm writing my grandmother a letter.
  4. per
  5. by
    dia a dia.
    day by day.
Usage notes[edit]
  • When the preposition a is followed by a masculine definite article, el or els, it is contracted with it to the forms al and als respectively. If el would be elided to the form l’ because it is before a word beginning with a vowel, the elision to a l’ takes precedence over contracting to al.

The same occurs with the salat article es, to form as except where es would be elided to s’.

Derived terms[edit]

Chayuco Mixtec[edit]

Etymology[edit]

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. or

References[edit]

  • Pensinger, Brenda J. (1974) Diccionario mixteco-español, español-mixteco (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 18)‎[7] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: El Instituto Lingüístico de Verano en coordinación con la Secretaría de Educación Pública a través de la Dirección General de Educación Extraescolar en el Medio Indígena, pages 3, 110

Chibcha[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

a

  1. open mouth
  2. smell, taste

References[edit]

  • Gómez Aldana D. F., Análisis morfológico del Vocabulario 158 de la Biblioteca Nacional de Colombia. Grupo de Investigación Muysccubun. 2013.

Choctaw[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. yes

Chuukese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. he
  2. she
  3. it

Adjective[edit]

a

  1. he is
  2. she is
  3. it is

Related terms[edit]

Present and past tense Negative tense Future Negative future Distant future Negative determinate
Singular First person ua use upwe usap upwap ute
Second person ka, ke kose, kese kopwe, kepwe kosap, kesap kopwap, kepwap kote, kete
Third person a ese epwe esap epwap ete
Plural First person aua (exclusive)
sia (inclusive)		 ause (exclusive)
sise (inclusive)		 aupwe (exclusive)
sipwe (inclusive)		 ausap (exclusive)
sisap (inclusive)		 aupwap (exclusive)
sipwap (inclusive)		 aute (exclusive)
site (inclusive)
Second person oua ouse oupwe ousap oupwap oute
Third person ra, re rese repwe resap repwap rete


Cimbrian[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • an (Sette Comuni)

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain.

Article[edit]

a (oblique masculine an)

  1. (Luserna) a, an
    Maria iz a lavròunaren. ― Maria is a Lavaronese.

References[edit]

Coatepec Nahuatl[edit]

Noun[edit]

a

  1. water

Cora[edit]

Particle[edit]

a

  1. outside
  2. out of view (from the speaker)
  3. entering a shallow domain; entering a domain in a shallow or restricted manner
    atyásuuna káasu hece
    The water is pouring into the (shallow) pan.

Antonyms[edit]

  • u (“inside; within view”)

References[edit]

  • Eugene Casad, Ronald Langacker (1985) “'Inside' and 'outside' in Cora grammar”, in International Journal of American Linguistics

Cornish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Onomatopoeic

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. ah

Etymology 2[edit]

Compare Welsh a

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

a (triggers soft mutation)

  1. Inserted before the verb when a subject or direct object precedes the verb

Etymology 3[edit]

From Proto-Brythonic *o, from Proto-Celtic *ɸo, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂pó.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a (triggers soft mutation)

  1. of (expressing separation, origin, composition/substance or a quality)
  2. of (between a preceding large number and a following plural noun to express quantity)
  3. from (indicating provenance)

Inflection[edit]

  Standard Cornish
Singular Plural
First person ahanaf ahanan
Second person ahanas ahanowgh
Third person anodho (m)
anedhy (f)		 anodhans, anedha

Corsican[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From the earlier la.

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

a f (masculine u, masculine plural i, feminine plural e)

  1. the (feminine)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Before a vowel, a turns into l'

Pronoun[edit]

a f

  1. her, it (direct object)

Usage notes[edit]

  • Before a vowel, a turns into l'

See also[edit]

Corsican personal pronouns
Nominative Dative Accusative Disjunctive
Singular 1st person eiu mi mè
2nd person tù ti tè
3rd person m ellu li u, l' ellu
3rd person f ella a, l' ella
Plural 1st person noi ci noi
2nd person voi vi voi
3rd person m elli li i, l' elli
3rd person f elle e, l' elle

References[edit]

  • “a” in INFCOR: Banca di dati di a lingua corsa

Czech[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Inherited from Old Czech a, from Proto-Slavic *a, from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō.

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. and

Further reading[edit]

  • a in Příruční slovník jazyka českého, 1935–1957
  • a in Slovník spisovného jazyka českého, 1960–1971, 1989

Dakota[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /a/

Letter[edit]

a (uppercase A)

  1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

See also[edit]

Dalmatian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ad.

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to
  2. at

Danish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Danish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

a n (singular definite a'et, plural indefinite a'er)

  1. The name of the letter A or a.
Inflection[edit]
Declension of a

gender 		Singular Plural
indefinite definite indefinite definite
nominative a a'et a'er a'erne
genitive a's a'ets a'ers a'ernes

Etymology 3[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • à (unofficial but common)

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. of, of...each, each containing
  2. at
  3. to, or

Etymology 4[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  1. imperative of ae

Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Middle Dutch â, from Old Dutch ā, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • aa (especially in names)
  • ie

Noun[edit]

a f (plural a's, diminutive aatje)

  2. (archaic) a stream or water
Related terms[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

From Middle Dutch jou, from Old Dutch *jū, a northern (Frisian?) variant of *iu, from Proto-Germanic *iwwiz, a West Germanic variant of *izwiz. Doublet of u.

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. (Brabant) you
Synonyms[edit]

Egyptian[edit]

Romanization[edit]

a

  1. Manuel de Codage transliteration of ꜥ.

Emilian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ego (“I”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a (personal, nominative case)

  1. I
  2. we
  3. you (plural)

Alternative forms[edit]

  • Becomes aj- before a vowel (proclitic).
  • Becomes -ja when acting as an enclitic.

Related terms[edit]

Emilian personal pronouns (strong forms)
Number Person Gender Disjunctive
(tonic) 		Nominative
(subject) 		Accusative
(direct complement) 		Dative
(indirect complement) 		Reflexive
(-self) 		Comitative
(with)
Singular First — mè a me mêg
Second — tè et te têg
Third Masculine ló al ge se sêg
Feminine lê la
Plural First Masculine nuēter a se nōsk
Feminine nuētri
Second Masculine vuēter a ve vōsk
Feminine vuētri
Third Masculine lôr i ge se sêg
Feminine el li

Esperanto[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Esperanto alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

a (accusative singular a-on, plural a-oj, accusative plural a-ojn)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also[edit]

Estonian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

 a on Estonian Wikipedia

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Estonian alphabet, called aa and written in the Latin script.
See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

a (genitive a or a', partitive a-d or a'd)

  1. The letter a (the first letter of the Estonian alphabet)
  2. (music) A (note)
    Synonym: la
Declension[edit]
Declension of a (ÕS type 26i/idee, no gradation)
singular plural
nominative a- a-d
accusative nom.
gen. a-
genitive a-de
partitive a-d a-id
a-sid
illative a-sse a-desse
a-isse
inessive a-s a-des
a-is
elative a-st a-dest
a-ist
allative a-le a-dele
a-ile
adessive a-l a-del
a-il
ablative a-lt a-delt
a-ilt
translative a-ks a-deks
a-iks
terminative a-ni a-deni
essive a-na a-dena
abessive a-ta a-deta
comitative a-ga a-dega

(music):

Declension of a (ÕS type 26i/idee, no gradation)
singular plural
nominative a' a'd
accusative nom.
gen. a'
genitive a'de
partitive a'd a'id
a'sid
illative a'sse a'desse
a'isse
inessive a's a'des
a'is
elative a'st a'dest
a'ist
allative a'le a'dele
a'ile
adessive a'l a'del
a'il
ablative a'lt a'delt
a'ilt
translative a'ks a'deks
a'iks
terminative a'ni a'deni
essive a'na a'dena
abessive a'ta a'deta
comitative a'ga a'dega

Etymology 2[edit]

Clipping of aga. Probably influenced by Russian а (a).

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. (colloquial, in fast speech) but

Etymology 3[edit]

Noun[edit]

a

  1. Abbreviation of aasta.
  2. Abbreviation of aar.

References[edit]

  • a in Sõnaveeb (Eesti Keele Instituut)
  • “a”, in [EKSS] Eesti keele seletav sõnaraamat [Descriptive Dictionary of the Estonian Language] (in Estonian) (online version), Tallinn: Eesti Keele Sihtasutus (Estonian Language Foundation), 2009

Fala[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Galician-Portuguese á, from Latin illa (“that”).

Article[edit]

a f sg (plural as, masculine u or o, masculine plural us or os)

  1. Feminine singular definite article; the
    • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
      A grandeda da lengua española é indiscotibli, i sei estudio, utilización defensa debin sel algo consostancial a nos, […]
      The greatness of the Spanish language is unquestionable, and its study, use and defense must be something consubstantial to us, […]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. Third person singular feminine accusative pronoun; her
See also[edit]
Fala personal pronouns
nominative dative accusative disjunctive
first person singular ei me, -mi mi
plural common nos musL
nusLV
nos, -nusM 		nos
masculine noshotrusM noshotrusM
feminine noshotrasM noshotrasM
second person singular tú te, -ti ti
plural common vos vusLV
vos, -vusM 		vos
masculine voshotrusM voshotrusM
feminine voshotrasM voshotrasM
third person singular masculine el le, -li uLV, oM el
feminine ela a ela
plural masculine elis usLV, osM elis
feminine elas as elas
reflexive — se, -si sí

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin ad (“to”).

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to
    • 2000, Domingo Frades Gaspar, Vamus a falal: Notas pâ coñocel y platical en nosa fala, Editora regional da Extremadura, Chapter 1: Lengua Española:
      A grandeda da lengua española é indiscotibli, i sei estudio, utilización defensa debin sel algo consostancial a nos, […]
      The greatness of the Spanish language is unquestionable, and its study, use and defense must be something consubstantial to us, […]

References[edit]

  • Valeš, Miroslav (2021) Diccionariu de A Fala: lagarteiru, mañegu, valverdeñu (web)‎[8], 2nd edition, Minde, Portugal: CIDLeS, published 2022, →ISBN

Faroese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin a.

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Faroese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Finnish[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

The Finnish orthography using the Latin script was based on those of Swedish, German and Latin, and was first used in the mid-16th century. No earlier script is known. See the Wikipedia article on Finnish for more information, and a for information on the development of the glyph itself.

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Finnish alphabet, written in the Latin script.
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

German musical notation.

Noun[edit]

a

  1. (music) A (note)
Usage notes[edit]

Capitalized for the great octave or any octave below that, or in names of major keys; not capitalized for the small octave or any octave above that, or in names of minor keys.

Declension[edit]
Declension of a (type maa)
singular plural
nominative a a:t
genitive a:n a:iden
a:itten
partitive a:ta a:ita
accusative a
a:n 		a:t
inessive a:ssa a:issa
elative a:sta a:ista
illative a:han a:ihin
adessive a:lla a:illa
ablative a:lta a:ilta
allative a:lle a:ille
essive a:na a:ina
translative a:ksi a:iksi
abessive a:tta a:itta
instructive – a:in
comitative – a:ineen
Derived terms[edit]
compounds

Franco-Provençal[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ad.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. to
  2. at

French[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the French alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun[edit]

a m or f (plural as)

  1. a, the name of the Latin-script letter A

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Quebec eye-dialect spelling of elle.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a f

  1. (Quebec, colloquial) alternative form of elle (“she”)
    C’te fille-là, a’a l’air cute.
    That girl, she looks cute.

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old French a, at from Vulgar Latin *at, from Latin habet.

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir
    Elle a un chat.
    She has a cat.

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Fula[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Fula alphabet, written in the Latin script.
Usage notes[edit]
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. you (second person singular subject pronoun; short form)
Usage notes[edit]
  • Common to all varieties of Fula (Fulfulde / Pulaar / Pular).
  • Used in all conjugations except the affirmative non-accomplished, where the long form is used instead.
See also[edit]
  • aɗa (second person singular subject pronoun; long form), hiɗa (variant used in the Pular dialect of Futa Jalon)
  • aan (emphatic form) (Maasina)
  • an (emphatic form) (Pular)
  • maaɗa (second person singular possessive pronoun (Adamawa))
  • -maa (second person singular dependent pronoun (Adamawa))

Galician[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin ad (“to, toward”).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /a̝/

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to, toward; indicating direction of motion
  2. introducing an indirect object
  3. used to indicate the time of an action
  4. (with de) to, until; used to indicate the end of a range
    de cinco a oito ― from five to eight
  5. by, on, by means of; expresses a mode of action
    a pé ― on foot
  6. for; indicates price or cost
Usage notes[edit]

The preposition a regularly forms contractions when it precedes the definite article o, a, os, and as. For example, a o ("to the") contracts to ao or ó, and a a ("to the") contracts to á.

Derived terms[edit]
at/to + the table
- Singular Plural
Masculine ao (ó) aos (ós)
Feminine á ás

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old Galician-Portuguese a, from Latin illa, feminine of ille (“that”).

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /a̝/

Article[edit]

a f (masculine singular o, feminine plural as, masculine plural os)

  1. (definite) the
Usage notes[edit]

The definite article o (in all its forms) regularly forms contractions when it follows the prepositions a (“to”), con (“with”), de (“of, from”), and en (“in”). For example, con a (“with the”) contracts to coa, and en a (“in the”) contracts to na.

Also, the definite article presents a second form that could be represented as <-lo/-la/-los/-las>, or either lack any specific representation. Its origin is in the assimilation of the last consonant of words ended in -s or -r, due to sandhi, with the /l/ present in the article in pre-Galician-Portuguese period. So Vou comer o caldo or Vou come-lo caldo are representations of /ˈβowˈkomelo̝ˈkaldo̝/ ("I'm going to have my soup"). This phenomenon, rare in Portuguese, is already documented in 13th century Medieval Galician texts, as the Cantigas de Santa Maria.[1]

Derived terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /ˈa/

Noun[edit]

a m (plural as)

  1. a (name of the letter A, a)

Etymology 4[edit]

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. accusative of ela
Usage notes[edit]

Due to sandhi, the accusative form o (in all its forms) regularly changes to -lo after verbal forms ended in ⟨r⟩ or ⟨s⟩, and to -no after verbal forms ended in a semivowel:

  • Eu apagueina 'I quenched it' < apaguei‿a
  • Ti apagáchela 'You quenched it' < apagaches‿a
  • El apagouna 'He quenched it' < apagou‿a
  • Nós apagámola 'We quenched it' < apagamos‿a
  • Temos de apagala 'We must quench it' < apagar‿a

References[edit]

  1. ^ Vaz Leão, Ângela (2000) “Questões de linguagem nas Cantigas de Santa Maria, de Afonso X”, in Scripta‎[1], volume 4, number 7, →DOI, retrieved 16 November 2017, pages 11-24

German[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the German alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun[edit]

a n (strong, genitive a or as, plural a or as)

  1. Alternative form of A

Etymology 2[edit]

Noun[edit]

a

  1. Abbreviation of a-Moll.
  2. Abbreviation of Ar.

Gilbertese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Proto-Oceanic *pat, from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *əpat, from Proto-Austronesian *Səpat.

Pronunciation[edit]

Numeral[edit]

a

  1. four

Gothic[edit]

Romanization[edit]

a

  1. Romanization of 𐌰

Grass Koiari[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. you (singular)

References[edit]

  • 2010, Terry Crowley & Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics, fourth edition, Oxford University Press, →ISBN, page 142.

Gun[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Cognates include Fon à.

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

à

  1. you (second-person singular subject pronoun)

See also[edit]

Gungbe personal pronouns
Number Person Emphatic Pronoun Subject Pronoun Object Pronoun Possessive Determiner
Singular First nyɛ́, yẹ́n ùn, n mi cé, ṣié
Second jɛ̀, jẹ̀, yẹ̀, hiẹ̀ à wè tòwè
Third éɔ̀, úɔ̀, éwọ̀ é è étɔ̀n, étọ̀n
Plural First mílɛ́, mílẹ́ mí mítɔ̀n, mítọ̀n
Second mìlɛ́, mìlẹ́ mì mìtɔ̀n, mìtọ̀n
Third yélɛ́, yélẹ́ yé yétɔ̀n, yétọ̀n

Haitian Creole[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /a/

Article[edit]

a

  1. the, definite article

Usage notes[edit]

This term only follows words that end with an oral (non-nasal) consonant and an oral vowel in that order, and can only modify singular nouns.

See also[edit]

Hawaiian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. and (used between sentences)
  2. until, up to

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. of, belonging to

Usage notes[edit]

  • Used for acquired possessions, while o is used for possessions that are inherited, out of personal control, and for things that can be got into (houses, clothes, cars).

Hokkien[edit]

For pronunciation and definitions of a – see 阿.
(This term is the pe̍h-ōe-jī form of 阿).

Hungarian[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

See az.

Pronunciation[edit]

Article[edit]

a (definite)

  1. the
    a hölgy ― the lady
  2. (before some time phrases) this
    a héten ― (during) this week
    a télen ― (in) this winter
Usage notes[edit]

Used before words starting with a consonant.

Related terms[edit]
  • az (for words starting with a vowel sound)

Pronoun[edit]

a (demonstrative)

  1. (in reduplicated constructions formed with postpositions) that
    A mellett a ház mellett vártam rá. ― I waited for him/her next to that house.

Determiner[edit]

a (demonstrative)

  1. (rare, only in consonant-initial fixed phrases, with zero article) Alternative form of az (“that”).
    Foglalja össze, miről szóltak az a heti beszédek és leckék.[1] ― Summarize what that week’s sermons and lessons were about.
    November 12-én, az a havi frissítőkedden jelenhet meg. ― It may be released on November 12th, on the Patch Tuesday of that month.
    Kérjük szíves tájékoztatásukat a tekintetben, hogy… (= abban a tekintetben, see az) ― We kindly request your information in that [= the] aspect…
    amondó vagyok, hogy… ― I am of the opinion that…, what/all I can / want to say is that… (literally, “I am that-sayer/-saying…”)

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (letter or phoneme itself): IPA(key): [ˈɒː][2]
  • (identifier or musical note): IPA(key): [ˈaː] (in the names of minor scales; see also A)

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  2. The first letter of the Hungarian alphabet, written in the Latin script.
  3. (music) designation of the sixth note from C and the corresponding tone
Derived terms[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a heti at e-nyelv.hu
  2. ^ Siptár, Péter and Miklós Törkenczy. The Phonology of Hungarian. The Phonology of the World’s Languages. Oxford University Press, 2007. →ISBN, p. 280

Further reading[edit]

Icelandic[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Icelandic alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Noun[edit]

a ?

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A.

See also[edit]

Ido[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (context pronunciation, letter name) IPA(key): /a/

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Ido alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

a (plural a-i)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. Apocopic form of ad

Related terms[edit]

  • e (“and”)
  • o (“or”)

Igbo[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (upper case A, lower case a)

  1. The first letter of the Igbo alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Etymology 1[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

  • e (neutral tongue position)

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. (indefinite) somebody, one, they, people (an unspecified individual).
    A gwara ya ka ọ bịa.
    He/she was told to come.
Usage notes[edit]
  • Often gets translated into English with the passive voice.
See also[edit]
Igbo personal pronouns
dependent independent object/possesive
Singular first m, a/e- ... -m m, mụ
second ị, i ngị, gị gị
third ọ, o ya
Plural first anyị
second ụnụ
third ha, a/e- ... -ha ha
Indefinite a/e - -

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Determiner[edit]

a

  1. this.
Related terms[edit]

Indo-Portuguese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Portuguese a.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (Sri Lankan Creole) IPA(key): /a/, /ə/

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to
    • 1883, Hugo Schuchardt, Kreolische Studien, volume 3 (overall work in German):
      […] , que da-cá su quião que ta pertencê a êll.
      […] , to give him his share which belongs to him.

Indonesian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (letter name): IPA(key): /ˈa/, [ˈa]
  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /a/

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Indonesian alphabet, called id and written in the Latin script.
  2. The name of the Latin-script letter A/a.

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Ingrian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Borrowed from Russian а (a).

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. and, but
    • 1936, N. A. Iljin and V. I. Junus, Bukvari iƶoroin șkouluja vart, Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 17:
      A siä Jaakko, kuhu määt?
      And you Jaakko, where are you going?
    • 1936, L. G. Terehova, V. G. Erdeli, translated by Mihailov and P. I. Maksimov, Geografia: oppikirja iƶoroin alkușkoulun kolmatta klaassaa vart (ensimäine osa), Leningrad: Riikin Ucebno-Pedagogiceskoi Izdateljstva, page 7:
      keskipäivääl hää [päivyt] on kaikkiin ylemmääl, a siis alkaa laskiissa.
      on midday it [the Sun] is highest, and then it starts to descend.

References[edit]

  • Ruben E. Nirvi (1971) Inkeroismurteiden Sanakirja, Helsinki: Suomalais-Ugrilainen Seura, page 1
  • Arvo Laanest (1997) Isuri keele Hevaha murde sõnastik, Eesti Keele Instituut, page 15

Interlingua[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to, at
  2. to, for (indicating purpose)
    sala a attender ― waiting room

Derived terms[edit]

Inupiaq[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. listen, hark
  2. oops (used to acknowledge an error)
  3. oh (used to express surprise)

Irish[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old Irish a, from Proto-Celtic *esyo (the final vowel triggering lenition), feminine Proto-Celtic *esyās (the final -s triggering h-prothesis), plural Proto-Celtic *ēsom (the final nasal triggering eclipsis), all from the genitive forms of Proto-Indo-European *éy. Cognate with Welsh ei.

Determiner[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. his, its
    a athair agus a mháthair ― his father and mother
    Chaill an t-éan a chleití.
    The bird lost its feathers.

Determiner[edit]

a (triggers h-prothesis)

  1. her, its
    a hathair agus a máthair ― her father and mother
    Bhris an mheaig a heiteog.
    The magpie broke its wing.

Determiner[edit]

a (triggers eclipsis)

  1. their
    a n-athair agus a máthair ― their father and mother
    a dtithe ― their houses
    a n-ainmneacha ― their names
  2. (Connacht) our
  3. (Connacht) your (plural)
See also[edit]
Irish personal pronouns
Number Person (and gender) Conjunctive
(emphatic) 		Disjunctive
(emphatic) 		Possessive
determiner
Singular First mé
(mise) 		mo L
m' before vowel sounds
Second tú
(tusa)1 		thú
(thusa) 		do L
d' before vowel sounds
Third masculine sé
(seisean) 		é
(eisean) 		a L
Third feminine sí
(sise) 		í
(ise) 		a H
Third neuter — ea —
Plural First muid, sinn
(muidne, muide), (sinne) 		ár E
Second sibh
(sibhse)1 		bhur E
Third siad
(siadsan) 		iad
(iadsan) 		a E

L Triggers lenition E Triggers eclipsis H Triggers h-prothesis

1 Also used as the vocative

The reflexive is formed by adding féin to the relevant pronoun: e.g. "myself" = mé féin, "yourselves" = sibh féin.

Determiner[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. how (used with an abstract noun)
    A ghéire a labhair sí!
    How sharply she spoke!
    A fheabhas atá sé!
    How good it is!

Etymology 2[edit]

A reduced form of older do (itself a reanalysis of do used in past tenses, and also present in early modern verbs like do-bheirim (“I give”), do-chím (“I see”)), or from the preverb a- in early modern verbs like a-tú (“I am”), a-deirim (“I say”) in relative clauses.

Particle[edit]

a (triggers lenition except of d’ and of past autonomous forms)

  1. introduces a direct relative clause, takes the independent form of an irregular verb
    an fear a chuireann síol ― the man who sows seed
    an síol a chuireann an fear ― the seed that the man sows
    an síol a cuireadh ― the seed that was sown
    nuair a bhí mé óg ― when I was young
    an cat a d'ól an bainne ― the cat that drank the milk

References[edit]

  • Gerald O’Nolan (1920) Studies in Modern Irish‎[9], volume 1, pages 89, 93–94

Etymology 3[edit]

From Old Irish a (“that, which the relative particle used after prepositions”), reanalyzed as an independent indirect relative particle from forms like ar a (“on which, on whom”), dá (“to which, to whom”), or early modern le a (“with which, with whom”), agá (“at which, at whom”) when prepositional pronouns started to be repeated in such clauses (eg. don té agá mbíon cloidheamh (…) aige, daoine agá mbíonn grádh aco do Dhia). Compare the forms used in Munster instead: go (from agá (“at which”)) and na (from i n-a (“in which”), go n-a (“with which”), ria n-a (“before which”) and later lena (“with which”), tréna (“through which”)).

Particle[edit]

a (triggers eclipsis, takes the dependent form of an irregular verb; not used in the past tense except with some irregular verbs)

  1. introduces an indirect relative clause
    an bord a raibh leabhar air ― the table on which there was a book
    an fear a bhfuil a mhac ag imeacht ― the man whose son is going away
Related terms[edit]
  • ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

Pronoun[edit]

a (triggers eclipsis, takes the dependent form of an irregular verb; not used in the past tense except with some irregular verbs)

  1. all that, whatever
    Sin a bhfuil ann.
    That's all that is there.
    An bhfuair tú a raibh uait?
    Did you get all that you wanted?
    Íocfaidh mé as a gceannóidh tú.
    I will pay for whatever you buy.
Related terms[edit]
  • ar (used with the past tense of regular and some irregular verbs)

References[edit]

  • Nicholas Williams (1994) “Na Canúintí a Theacht chun Solais”, in K. McCone, D. McManus, C. Ó Háinle, N. Williams, L. Breatnach, editors, Stair na Gaeilge: in ómós do P[h]ádraig Ó Fiannachta (in Irish), Maynooth: Roinn na Sean-Ghaeilge, Coláiste Phádraig, →ISBN, page 464: “Tháinig nós chun cinn sa 17ú haois freisin an réamhfhocal a dhúbláil: don té agá mbíonn cloidheamh..aige; daoine agá mbíonn grádh aco do Dhia (Ó Cuív, 1952b, 177), an tí ag a bhfuil a bheag do chuntabhairt aige (Williams, 1986, 155).”
  • Gerald O’Nolan (1934) The New Era Grammar of Modern Irish, The Educational Company of Ireland Ltd., page 56

Etymology 4[edit]

Particle[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. introduces a vocative
    A Dhia!
    O God!
    A dhuine uasail!
    Sir!
    Tar isteach, a Sheáin.
    Come in, Seán.
    A amadáin!
    You fool!

Etymology 5[edit]

Particle[edit]

a (triggers h-prothesis)

  1. introduces a numeral
    a haon, a dó, a trí... ― one, two, three...
    Séamas a Dó ― James the Second
    bus a seacht ― bus seven

Etymology 6[edit]

Originally a reduced form of do.

Preposition[edit]

a (plus dative, triggers lenition)

  1. to (used with verbal nouns)
    síol a chur ― to sow seed
    uisce a ól ― to drink water
    an rud atá sé a scríobh ― what he is writing
    D’éirigh sé a chaint.
    He rose to speak.
    Téigh a chodladh.
    Go to sleep.

Mutation[edit]

Irish mutation
Radical Eclipsis with h-prothesis with t-prothesis
a n-a ha not applicable
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Further reading[edit]

Istriot[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin ad.

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. at
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:
      A poûpa, a prùa a xì doûto bandere,
      At the stern, at the bow everything is flags,

Particle[edit]

a

  1. emphasises a verb; mandatory with impersonal verbs
    • 1877, Antonio Ive, Canti popolari istriani: raccolti a Rovigno, volume 5, Ermanno Loescher, page 99:
      A poûpa, a prùa a xì doûto bandere,
      At the stern, at the bow everything is flags,

Italian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Latin ā (the name of the letter A).

Letter[edit]

a f or m (invariable, lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Italian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

Noun[edit]

a f (invariable)

  1. The name of the Latin-script letter A.; a
See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin ad. In a few phrases, a stems from Latin ā, ab.

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. Indicates the indirect object. to
    Porta questo cesto alla nonna.
    Bring this basket to grandma.
    Ai gatti piacciono i pesci.
    Cats like fish.
    (literally, “Fish are pleasable to cats.”)
    E lo chiedi a me?
    You're asking that to me?
  2. Indicates the place, used in some contexts, in others in is used. in, to
    Andiamo a casa?
    Can we go home?
    (literally, “Can we go to home?”)
    Ora sto a Palermo, a Roma ci torno domani.
    I'm in Palermo now, I'll go back to Rome tomorrow.
  3. Denotes the manner. with
    appena, a nuoto, a piedi, a caso ― almost, swimming, by foot, randomly
  5. Forms adverbs meaning “in a manner related or resembling ~”.
    a cappella, a bestia, a braccio, a pennello, etc. ― (please add an English translation of this usage example)
  6. Forms goodbye formulas from the time the persons will meet again. see you...
    A domani! ― See you tomorrow!
    A dopo! ― See you later!
    Al prossimo Natale! ― See you next Christmas!
  7. Introduces the ingredients of a dish, perfume, etc. with
    pasta all'uovo ― pasta with eggs
    cornetto al cioccolato ― chocolate croissant
    shampoo al limone ― lemon shampoo
    patatine alla pizza ― pizza-flavoured crisps
  8. (central-southern Italy) Denotes the direct object, but only if it's not preceded by articles
    Chiama a Paolo.
    Call Paolo.
    E non ci avevi visto a noi?
    And you didn't see us?
    the "us" here is repeated twice for emphasis
    Ascolti a me, signó!
    Listen to me, ma'am!
  9. (followed by the definite article) Forms an interjection that gives an instruction or calls attention to something.
    Al ladro! ― Thief!
    Al fuoco! ― Fire!
    Al lupo! ― Wolf!
    All'attacco! ― Attack!
    All'arrembaggio! ― Assault! (yelled by pirates)
  10. (regional) Forms continuous tense when preceded by stare and followed by verb infinitives. -ing. The standard language for this scope uses gerunds.
    che stai a di'? ― what are you saying?
    stavo a dormi' ― I was sleeping
  11. Repeated indicates the amount by which something grows. by
    a due a due ― two by two; in pairs
    a poco a poco ― little by little
  12. Indicates the agent of a verb in some contexts. by. Sometimes interchangable with da.
    L'ho sentito dire a Livia.
    I heard Livia say it.
    (literally, “I heard it said by Livia.”)
    • c. 1909, Luigi Pirandello, chapter 2.3, in I vecchi e i giovani:
      Mi duole, creda, sinceramente, veder fare a un uomo come lei, per cui ho tanta stima, una figura... non bella, via! non bella.
      (please add an English translation of this quotation)
Usage notes[edit]
  • When followed by a word that begins with a vowel sound, the form ad is used instead.
  • When followed by the definite article, a combines with the article to produce the following combined forms:
a + article Combined form
a + il al
a + lo allo
a + l' all'
a + i ai
a + gli agli
a + la alla
a + le alle
Descendants[edit]
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)

Etymology 3[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  1. Misspelling of ha.

References[edit]


Further reading[edit]

Jamaican Creole[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. Indicates location: at, in, on.
    a mi yaad
    at my home
  2. of
    Yunaitid Stiet a Amoerka
    United States of America
  3. to
    Dem go a maakit. Mi a-go a skuul.
    They go to the market. I'm going to school.

Verb[edit]

a

  1. be
    1. is, it's
      Jumieka a wahn ailan konchri.
      Jamaica is an island country.
    2. are, am
      Wi a api.
      We are happy.
      Mi a di tiicha.
      I am the teacher.
    3. there is, there are
      A tuu apruoch tu Ort sayans.
      There are two approaches to Earth science.

Particle[edit]

a

  1. Habitual present tense marker.
    wan plies we dem a plie haki mach
    a place where they play hockey matches
  2. Precedes a verb to mark the -ing form.
    a laaf, a ron, a iit
    laughing, running, eating

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Romanization[edit]

a

  1. Rōmaji transcription of あ
  2. Rōmaji transcription of ア

Jersey Dutch[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • (phoneme): IPA(key): /ʊ/, /ɑ/

Letter[edit]

a

  1. A letter of the Jersey Dutch alphabet, written in the Latin script.

K'iche'[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

a

  1. masculine youth indicator

Adverb[edit]

a

  1. (interrogatory) indicator of a question

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. your

References[edit]

Kabuverdianu[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (uppercase A)

  1. The first letter of the Kabuverdianu alphabet, written in the Latin script.

Kabyle[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Determiner[edit]

a

  1. this
    a rgaz a
    this man

Kalasha[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Sanskrit अहम् (ahám).

Pronoun[edit]

a (Arabic آ)

  1. I (1st-person personal pronoun)

See also[edit]

Kalasha personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person a / آ ábi / آبی
2nd person tu / تُو ábi / آبی
3rd person (near) ía / اِیا émi / ایمی
3rd person (far) ása / آسا éḷi / ایࣇی
3rd person (absent) se / سے te / تے

Kapampangan[edit]

Ligature[edit]

a

  1. connects adjectives to nouns
    Romantiku a bengi.
    A romantic night.
    Pinakapalsintan a tau.
    The person I love the most.
    Mayap a abak.
    Good morning.
    Mayap a bengi.
    Good night.
    Dakal a salamat.
    Thank you very much.

See also[edit]

Kari'na[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. ah, aah

References[edit]

  • Courtz, Hendrik (2008) A Carib grammar and dictionary‎[10], Toronto: Magoria Books, →ISBN, page 213
  • Yamada, Racquel-María (2010) “a”, in Speech community-based documentation, description, and revitalization: Kari’nja in Konomerume‎[11], University of Oregon, page 707

Kashubian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /ˈa/
  • Syllabification: a

Etymology 1[edit]

The Kashubian orthography is based on the Latin alphabet. No earlier script is known. See the Kashubian alphabet article on Wikipedia for more, and a for development of the glyph itself.

Letter[edit]

a (lowercase, uppercase A)

  1. The first letter of the Kashubian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Etymology 2[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. and (used to continue a previous statement or to add to it)

Noun[edit]

a n (indeclinable)

  1. (music) a (note)

Etymology 3[edit]

Inherited from Proto-Slavic *a.

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. interjection that expresses various emotions; ah!

Further reading[edit]

  • Stefan Ramułt (1893) “a”, in Słownik języka pomorskiego czyli kaszubskiego‎[12] (in Kashubian), page 1
  • Bernard Sychta (1967-1973) “a, a!”, in Słownik gwar kaszubskich, volume 1, page 1
  • Eùgeniusz Gòłąbk (2011) “a”, in Słownik Polsko-Kaszubski / Słowôrz Pòlskò-Kaszëbsczi‎[13], volume 1, page 9
  • “A, a”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022
  • “a!”, in Internetowi Słowôrz Kaszëbsczégò Jãzëka [Internet Dictionary of the Kashubian Language], Fundacja Kaszuby, 2022

Kayan[edit]

Letter[edit]

a

  1. a the first letter of Kayan alphabet.

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. used for he, she, third person.

Koitabu[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. you (singular)

References[edit]

  • Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Krisa[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

IPA(key): /a/

Noun[edit]

a m

  1. pig
    Nana a doma.
    I shot your pig.

References[edit]

  • Donohue, Mark and San Roque, Lila. I'saka: a sketch grammar of a language of north-central New Guinea. (Pacific Linguistics, 554.) (2004).

Ladin[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Latin a.

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. in
  2. at
  3. to

Derived terms[edit]

Lashi[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a

  1. not

References[edit]

  • Hkaw Luk (2017) A grammatical sketch of Lacid‎[14], Chiang Mai: Payap University (master thesis)

Latgalian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Ultimately from Proto-Balto-Slavic *ō. The source is not clear:

  • Probably borrowed from a Slavic language (compare Russian а (a) and Belarusian а (a)).
  • Alternatively, irregularly shortened from *ā, inherited from *ō.

Compare Lithuanian o.

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈa]
  • Hyphenation: a

Conjunction[edit]

a f

  1. and, but

References[edit]

  • A. Andronov, L. Leikuma (2008) Latgalīšu-Latvīšu-Krīvu sarunu vuordineica, Lvava, →ISBN

Latin[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Ancient Greek Α (A, “alpha”), likely through Etruscan.

Pronunciation[edit]

(letter name):

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. (sometimes with littera) the first letter of the Latin alphabet.
    littera a ― the letter a

Etymology 2[edit]

From Etruscan.

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

ā f (indeclinable)

  1. The name of the letter A.
Coordinate terms[edit]

Etymology 3[edit]

Alternative form of ab by apocope (not used before a vowel or h).

Alternative forms[edit]

  • à (earlier in New Latin)
  • ab

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

ā (+ ablative)

  1. (indicating ablation) from, away from, out of
    • c. 52 BCE, Julius Caesar, Commentarii de Bello Gallico 1.1:
      Gallōs ab Aquītānīs Garumna flūmen, ā Belgīs Matrona et Sēquana dīvidit.
      The river Garonne separates the Gauls from the Aquitani; the Marne and the Seine (separate them) from the Belgae.
  2. (indicating ablation) down from
  3. (indicating agency: source of action or event) by, by means of
    • 45 BCE, Cicero, De finibus bonorum et malorum 1.2:
      Quamquam philosophiae quidem vituperātōribus satis respōnsum est eō librō, quō ā nōbīs philosophia dēfēnsa et collaudāta est, cum esset accūsāta et vituperāta ab Hortēnsiō.
      Although indeed to the vituperators of philosophy an adequate response is in that book, in which philosophy has been defended and highly praised by us [me], when it had been accused and vituperated by Hortensius.
  4. (indicating instrumentality: source of action or event) by, by means of, with
  5. (indicating association) to, with
  6. (indicating location) at, on, in
  7. (time) after, since
Usage notes[edit]

Used in conjunction with passive verbs to mark the agent.

  • Liber ā discipulō aperītur.
    The book is opened by the student.
Derived terms[edit]
Descendants[edit]
  • Italian: a
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)
  • → Norwegian Bokmål: a (learned)

Etymology 4[edit]

Expressive.

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

ā

  1. ah

Further reading[edit]

  • “a”, in Charlton T. Lewis and Charles Short (1879) A Latin Dictionary, Oxford: Clarendon Press
  • “a”, in Charlton T. Lewis (1891) An Elementary Latin Dictionary, New York: Harper & Brothers
  • a in Gaffiot, Félix (1934) Dictionnaire illustré latin-français, Hachette.
  • a - ΛΟΓΕΙΟΝ (since 2011) Dictionaries for Ancient Greek and Latin (in English, French, Spanish, German, Dutch) University of Chicago.

Latvian[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Proposed in 1908 as part of the new Latvian spelling by the scientific commission headed by K. Mīlenbahs, which was accepted and began to be taught in schools in 1909. Prior to that, Latvian had been written in German Fraktur, and sporadically in Cyrillic.

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

A

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Latvian alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Noun[edit]

a m (invariable)

  1. The name of the Latin script letter A/a.

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

Laz[edit]

Determiner[edit]

a

  1. Latin spelling of ა (a)

Letter[edit]

a

  1. The first letter of the Laz alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Numeral[edit]

a

  1. Latin spelling of ა (a)

Ligurian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Ligurian Definite Articles
singular plural
masculine o i
feminine  a e

Article[edit]

a f sg (plural e)

  1. the

Etymology 2[edit]

From Latin ad.

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. in
  2. at
  3. to
    Vàddo a câza. ― I'm going home. (literally, “I go to home.”)
  4. indicates the direct object, mainly to avoid confusion when it, the subject, or both are displaced, or for emphasis
    A mæ seu ghe fa mâ 'n bràsso. ― My sister's arm hurts. (literally, “To my sister an arm hurts.”)
a + article Combined form
a + o a-o
a + a a-a
a + i a-i
a + e a-e

Livonian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Livonian alphabet, written in the Latin script.


Louisiana Creole[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From French avoir (“to have”).

Verb[edit]

a

  1. to have

Lower Sorbian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Lower Sorbian alphabet, called a and written in the Latin script.
  2. The name of the Latin-script letter a.

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. and

See also[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • Muka, Arnošt (1921, 1928) “a”, in Słownik dolnoserbskeje rěcy a jeje narěcow (in German), St. Petersburg, Prague: ОРЯС РАН, ČAVU; Reprinted Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag, 2008
  • Starosta, Manfred (1999) “a”, in Dolnoserbsko-nimski słownik / Niedersorbisch-deutsches Wörterbuch (in German), Bautzen: Domowina-Verlag

Lushootseed[edit]

Letter[edit]

a

  1. The second letter of the Lushootseed alphabet, pronounced as an open back unrounded vowel.

Malay[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Malay alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Interjection[edit]

a (Jawi spelling ا)

  1. Used to show excitement or to show agreement.
    A, macam itulah sepatutnya kaujawab!
    Yes, that's how you should answer!
  2. Used to show that you have forgotten or are attempting to remember something.
    Dia ni, a, salah seorang Perdana Menteri Britain dulu.
    This guy is, uh, one of Britain's Prime Ministers in the past.

Further reading[edit]

Maltese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): /a/ (short phoneme)
  • IPA(key): /aː/ (long phoneme)

Letter[edit]

a (lower case, upper case A)

  1. The first letter of the Maltese alphabet, written in the Latin script.

See also[edit]

Mandarin[edit]

Romanization[edit]

a (a5／a0, Zhuyin ˙ㄚ)

  1. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 呵
  2. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 啊
  3. Hanyu Pinyin reading of 阿

a

  1. Nonstandard spelling of ā.
  2. Nonstandard spelling of á.
  3. Nonstandard spelling of ǎ.
  4. Nonstandard spelling of à.

Usage notes[edit]

  • Transcriptions of Mandarin into the Latin script often do not distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without indication of tone.

Mandinka[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. he, him (personal pronoun)
    A m busa ― He/she struck me.
    Y a busa ― They struck him/her.
  2. she, her (personal pronoun)
  3. it (personal pronoun)

See also[edit]

Mandinka personal pronouns
singular plural
1st person nte, n, m ntolu, ntelu, n
2nd person ite, i altolu, altelu, al
3rd person ate, a itolu, itelu, y

Maori[edit]

Particle[edit]

a

  1. of
  2. (determinative particle for names)
  3. (particle for pronouns when succeeding ki, i, kei, and hei)

Usage notes[edit]

  • When used in the sense of of, suggests that the possessor has control of the relationship (alienable possession).

Masurian[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

  • IPA(key): [ˈa]
  • Syllabification: a

Etymology 1[edit]

Inherited from Old Polish a.

Conjunction[edit]

a

  1. (contrastive) and, but, whereas
  2. (coordinating) and; at that

Particle[edit]

a

  1. sometimes neutral or emphatic, used to start a sentence or question

Etymology 2[edit]

Inherited from Old Polish a, from Proto-Slavic *a.

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. ah! used when the speaker has remembered or noticed something

Further reading[edit]

  • Zofia Stamirowska (1987-2021) “a”, in Anna Basara, editor, Słownik gwar Ostródzkiego, Warmii i Mazur‎[15], volume 1, Zakład Narodowy im. Ossolińskich Wydawnictwo Polskiej Akademii Nauk, →ISBN, pages 107-109

Mezquital Otomi[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Interjection[edit]

a

  1. expresses satisfaction, pity, fright, or admiration

Etymology 2[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  1. (transitive) wake, awaken

Etymology 3[edit]

From Proto-Otomi *ʔɔ, from Proto-Otomian *ʔɔ.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Noun[edit]

a

  1. flea
Derived terms[edit]

References[edit]

  • Andrews, Enriqueta (1950) Vocabulario otomí de Tasquillo, Hidalgo‎[16] (in Spanish), México, D.F.: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 1
  • Hernández Cruz, Luis, Victoria Torquemada, Moisés (2010) Diccionario del hñähñu (otomí) del Valle del Mezquital, estado de Hidalgo (Serie de vocabularios y diccionarios indígenas “Mariano Silva y Aceves”; 45)‎[17] (in Spanish), second edition, Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, A.C., page 3

Middle Dutch[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Old Dutch ā, from Proto-Germanic *ahwō.

Noun[edit]

â f

  1. (rare) river, stream, water

Inflection[edit]

This noun needs an inflection-table template.

Descendants[edit]

Further reading[edit]

  • “a (II)”, in Vroegmiddelnederlands Woordenboek, 2000

Middle English[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. Alternative form of an (mainly preconsonantal)

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. (Late Middle English) Alternative form of I (“I”)

Etymology 3[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. Alternative form of heo (“she”)

Etymology 4[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. Alternative form of he (“he”)

Etymology 5[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. Alternative form of he (“they”)

Etymology 6[edit]

Numeral[edit]

a

  1. (Northern, Early Middle English) Alternative form of oo (“one”)

Middle French[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

From Old French a, from Latin ad.

Alternative forms[edit]

  • à (after 1550)

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. to; towards

Etymology 2[edit]

From Old French, from Latin habet.

Verb[edit]

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of avoir

Middle Welsh[edit]

Etymology 1[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. O (vocative particle)

Etymology 2[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. who, which, that

Particle[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. inserted before the verb when the subject of direct object precedes it

Etymology 3[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Particle[edit]

a (triggers lenition)

  1. used to introduce a direct question
  2. whether, used to introduce an indirect question

Etymology 4[edit]

Reduction of o (“from”).

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a

  1. used between a focused adjective and the noun it modifies

Etymology 5[edit]

From Old Welsh ha.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Conjunction[edit]

a (triggers aspiration)

  1. and

Etymology 6[edit]

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Preposition[edit]

a (triggers aspiration)

  1. with

Etymology 7[edit]

From Proto-Celtic *ageti, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂eǵ-.

Alternative forms[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Verb[edit]

a

  1. third-person singular present indicative of mynet

Mutation[edit]

Middle Welsh mutation
Radical Soft Nasal H-prothesis
a unchanged unchanged ha
Note: Some of these forms may be hypothetical. Not every
possible mutated form of every word actually occurs.

Mòcheno[edit]

Etymology[edit]

From Middle High German ein, from Old High German ein, from Proto-West Germanic *ain, from Proto-Germanic *ainaz (“one, a”).

Article[edit]

a (oblique masculine an)

  1. a, an

References[edit]

Mopan Maya[edit]

Article[edit]

a

  1. the

References[edit]

  • Hofling, Charles Andrew (2011). Mopan Maya–Spanish–English Dictionary, University of Utah Press.

Mountain Koiari[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. you (singular)

References[edit]

  • Terry Crowley, Claire Bowern, An Introduction to Historical Linguistics

Murui Huitoto[edit]

Adverb[edit]

a

  1. Superseded spelling of aa.

References[edit]

  • Shirley Burtch (1983) Diccionario Huitoto Murui (Tomo I) (Linguistica Peruana No. 20)‎[18] (in Spanish), Yarinacocha, Peru: Instituto Lingüístico de Verano, page 19

Nauruan[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Pronoun[edit]

a

  1. I (first person singular pronoun)
    • 2000, Lisa M Johnson, Firstness of Secondness in Nauruan Morphology (overall work in English):
      a pudun
      1sing fall+Vn
      I fell
      […]
      a nuw